Melting a Capsicle
by Greenwolves
Summary: The Avengers set out to finish what Howard Stark started; find Captain America and the frozen Valkyrie. They only want a small DNA sample but find something a little larger. Set after Battle of New York.
1. 1

_All I can feel is cold. I cannot breathe, I cannot see, but I can feel the cold._

 _Every part of my body is ice._

 _I do not sleep, but somehow I dream. I dream of my best friend falling from a train. I dream of men flying into the air as bombs explode around them. The silence of the snowy French woods broken by gunshots._ _I dream of comrades lost under my command. I dream of a plane crashing into a frozen sea. I dream of screaming._

 _I_ _dream of death._

~x~

"According to Howard's maps, you're nearing the place they found the tessaract."

Bruce's voice comes over the comms clear and strong.

"If you send out the scanner now and I'll let you know if anything comes through" the scientist added.

"Alright will do Bruce."

Clint leaves Natasha to control the huge Stark-built Quinjet as he heads off to find the resident genius.

He finds the billionaire sitting by the window on a call with Sergeant James Rhodes.

"No Rhodey pie, you'll have to ask her yourself... No way does she prefer me to you, she adores you... Ok yeah maybe she does prefer me but who doesn't? Come on though R-Bear I'm busy this week... I'm busier than usual right now. Anyway I've gotta go Legolas wants something. Good luck babe!"

He laughed as his ended the call then looked over at Clint. "Did you need something Katniss? Any word from my Science Bro?"

Clint rolled his eyes, used to the teasing nicknames Tony came up with. "Bruce says you should start up the scanner now as we're in the map ranges."

Tony's eyes sparkled with excitement and he ran off to get it set up.

Clint rolled his eyes yet again and headed back to Natasha.

Outside the window the ocean sped past in a frozen wasteland. You could feel the harsh winds batter the ship despite the incredible engineering, and Clint shuddered. The archer sped up and quickly reached the cockpit.

As he settled back into his 'Pilot's Chair' he mused aloud to Nat and Bruce. "I wonder how long he survived after the crash. The serum would probably not have let him die instantly right? So I wonder how long he suffered for before he died."

After no response, he turned to Natasha, to find she was looking at him in horror. "What? I was just asking." He said defensively.

Nat quickly smoothed her expression. "No, no I just- well. I never considered that he could have lived through the initial crash."

"He would have been in a great deal of pain if he had. He would have been drowning." Bruce added to their uplifting conversation.

The two spies stared out the window in silence.

~x~

Tony enters the cockpit a few minutes later, telling Bruce the scanner has started. After a few seconds the scientist who is back at Stark Tower confirms he is recieving from the scanner, and the Avengers settle down to wait.

An hour later finds Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow surrounded by sweet wrappers and gossiping about Shield agents. Then Bruce comes over the radio.

"Guys..." He sounds excited. "I think I've found the Valkyrie!"

They all instantly recognise the name of the Hydra plane that Captain America crashed into the ocean, that people have been looking for for over 70 years. They turn excited gazes on each other as Bruce sends over the location.

Clint and Natasha fly to those coordinates and quickly realise why its been so hard to find. It looks exactly like every other bit of ice, but this does not deter Tony.

He leaves the spy twins hovering above and flies down in the Iron Man suit. He knows they are all watching the live feed from his camera as he uses the laser to melt the thick ice sheets.

Soon he can see the ship. He can't believe they've found the Valkyrie! Bruce has wanted to see if he could replicate the Captain America serum for ages, and if they can find some of his DNA they could have a chance.

Soon he can see a whole side of the ship, including the hatch door. Trembling with excitement he opens it to find... ice.

He laughes at his own stupidity at thinking he would just be able to walk through before shutting the hatch again. Looks like they'll be taking the whole plane back to Bruce after all.

 **Tell me what you think. I'd love some feedback :)**


	2. 2

_He's drowing again. Always drowning. He drowns in every nightmare, in every waking moment he's drowning again and again and again. He's choking on salt water, trying to cough it up but just letting more in._ _His entire world is pain and cold. He just wants it to end. When will it end?_

~x~

Bruce has cleared a space in the garage and set up the lab by the time the others arrive at the Avengers compound.

Soon Tony is back in normal clothes and the icy WWII Hydra plane is settled in the middle of the large garage. JARVIS increased the temperature of the room and it was then a waiting game for the ice to melt.

None of then can contain their excitement when JARVIS finally announces that the majority of the ice has cleared, and the four of them go bounding up the ramp into the hold.

Tony leads the way as they tentatively explore, pausing at the hatches holding the frozen bombs that had been headed for 1940's New York.

Nat makes a note to get rid of them later.

They continue on to the front of the Valkyrie. There is thicker ice here, where most of the ice in the hold had melted. As they approach the smashed up window at the front of the plane, Clint trips over something.

They all turn to watch as Clint picks it up, eyes widening as he turns it over to find the red, white and blue patterned shield. The edge of the paint is chipped and the leather strap worn and faded, but there is no doubt who it belongs to.

"It's Captain America's shield!" Clint is so shocked he starts jumping up and down. "It's his shield!"

They all chuckle and continue on, awed.

Tony stops before the front seats and they all look over his shoulder to see what he's looking at.

Blood.

A lot of it covering the glass window, staining the ice red. Even more disturbing were the scratch marks on the walls.

Of someone desperately trying to escape.

"Well Clint. Guess you were right earlier. He didn't die in the original crash." Bruce commented somberly.

Nat then spotted something in the corner and slowly approached it. The other Avengers followed her to a shadowed patch under the ice by the wall.

They all exchange wide-eyed looks. It was one thing to be known worldwide as a superhero. It was another to find the frozen body of a legendary hero of war.

Together they manoeuvred the block of ice containing Captain America out of the plane and into the lab. They laid him on the bed started to melt the ice using hot water bottles and one of Tony's welding torches.

As the ice thinned they reached layers of darker ice. Red ice. They exchanged grim looks.

Eventually they had melted most of it off and were left standing around the table looking at the body of Captain Steve Rodgers.

"I- His body is perfectly preserved..." muttered Bruce in amazement.

Natasha nodded in agreement. It looked like he'd only just died.

His tight, patriotically-coloured uniform showed the evidence of his last battle against Red Skull. It also allowed them to see that miraculously he hadn't lost any muscle mass from 70 years of being frozen. Glass was embedded in his skin and uniform from the window of the Valkyrie, staining everything red with blood. The man's skin was incredibly pale and covered in bruises. His hair was now melting and drooping over his forehead, while his eyelashes still had ice clinging to them.

What was worst were the signs of frostbite, iceburns, dehydration and starvation his body showed, confirming their suspicions that he hadn't died when he crashed the plane.

Bruce went closer and lifted his arm, examining the vein in his wrist. "He must have frozen from the inside. Ice in his lungs and veins until his body simply could not continue working."

Bruce dropped his arm back to the table and shook his head. "Poor guy. After everything he did, this is how his story ended?"

He turned and went back to explore the Valkyrie again. Tony and Clint followed.

Natasha sat beside the bed and picked up the man's hand. It was large and cold in her's. None of them had expected to find his body so complete.

She flinched and jumped out of her chair, shouting in surprise. His fingers had twitched. She was sure of it.

The three men ran out in time to see JARVIS display a heart monitor on a screen beside the bed. And there was a single peak on it.

"What the hell?" Tony whispers wide-eyed.

Then Steve's body arched up on the table, slamming back down with a bang. This caused another peak on the monitor.

The Avengers stepped back in alarm.

And then Steve Rodgers, _the_ Captain America, a man that had been dead for 70 years, breathed again.

It was a huge breath that made his body arch up slightly, before the man launched himself sideways off the bed to throw up.

He heaved four times, spewing up watery yellowish chunks of ice out of his stomach, before collapsing back on the bed, breathing heavily.

The four Avengers watched him carefully. He had one leg lying flat on the bed while the other knee was folded upwards, large booted foot pressing into the bed. One arm was hanging off the table and his other palm was on his chest as he took in great lungfuls of air.

Bruce watched concerned as he continued to breathe harshly like he couldn't get quite enough oxygen in. The hand hanging off the bed had also begun to shake.

He cleared his throat and started with "Can you breathe alright or do you need an oxygen mask?"

Clearly the man hadn't noticed them yet, because as soon as Bruce made a noise his difficulty with breathing was forgotten. The Captain flew off the bed into a defensive fighting stance, ready to fight off anyone who approached. He then noticed the shield leaning against the wall, lifting it and sliding it onto his arm in a fluid movement that was clearly practised. He was still covered in ice and blood, but stood strong against the potential threat.

The four Avengers backed up and raised their hands in surrender.

"We mean you no harm!" said Tony.

"We're friends!" added Clint, but the Captain's gaze remained on Tony.

A furrow grew on the soldier's brow. "... Howard?" he asked, confused. His voice was low and shaky with disuse.

Tony's head dropped a tiny fraction, only perceptible to the two spies that knew him well as he was compared to his father by his childhood hero, but answered him carefully.

"No. I'm Tony. Howard's son."

The furrow on his forehead grew as they watched on concerned. "No. No, Howard doesn't have a son. How stupid do you think I am to not know if one of my best friends has a kid or not?" His words were firm but there was confusion and a great deal of fear in his expressive blue eyes.

Before Tony could answer back, Bruce stepped forward. He noticed that the shaking has returned to the Captain's left hand, though he tried to hide it.

"Could you tell me your name?" Bruce starts.

The soldier watches the doctor for a moment, head slightly cocked, before standing to attention and replying, "Captain Steven Grant Rogers of the Howling Commandos, sir." He finished with a salute.

Bruce pauses, as if struggling to take it in. "Ok Steve, I'm Bruce. I'm a doctor. It would make me feel a lot better if you would sit down. Could you also lower the shield please Captain?"

Steve raised his shield once more.

The shaking begun to get worse and the tremor in his hands became so prominant that he could no longer hold his shield steady. Bruce stepped closer.

"I need you to sit down for me Steve. Could you do that so I can check on you?"

Steve backs up until he hits the wall. "I don't need a doctor. I'm fine."

Bruce takes in the man in front of him, who is leaning against the wall for support and who's body is trembling, and ignores what he's just said.

"You're shaking Steve. Are you cold?"

 _Stupid question_ Bruce thinks. _We just unfroze the man. Of course he's cold._

But Steve's answer concerns him.

"I'm always cold. This is the warmest I've felt in an eternity..."

He drops the shield as he can no longer hold it. His hair melts into his eyes and he shakes his head to clear it, simultaneously fighting off exhaustion.

"Steve? Steve I need you to sit down for me-"

Bruce pauses as he watches Captain America slide down the wall infront of him as his legs give out.

"I-uh. Hmm. Send word to the Commandos that I'll be back as soon as I can, and tell Peggy I won't be late." He blinked lazily, as if in a trance. "Bruce you hear that? I got a date at the Stork Club with Peggy Carter next week." He smiles slightly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Not my Pegs."

"Y'know Bruce. I think I wanna marry 'er."

Steve smiled once more before his body drooped sideways and he passed out.

Bruce bowed his head before turning back to his teammates. They all saw his watery eyes before he roughly rubbed at them with his sleeve.

"Oh god." This surprisingly came from the usually upbeat Clint.

"Yeah we got issues now." Tony admitted. "How we gonna tell him that he slept for 70 years?"

"He lost his whole life" Natasha added, looking down at the unconscious young man with pity in her eyes. "Poor, poor man."


	3. 3

_If he's not dreaming of freezing or drowning or crashing planes, then it's bombs and gunshots and tanks and shouting and screaming and crying. Because that's his life now._ _He sometimes wonders if Erksine's serum was worth it. He traded poverty and asthma and weakness for watching other men die._ _All he has now is cold and pain and darkness. But still his own death won't come. Only the deaths of other men flash through his mind. His own is just out of reach._ _He vaguely wonders how long he's been sitting here, trapped in his own head inside an ice cube inside a plane inside an ice sheet in the ocean._ _He wishes it would end._ _~x~_

Steve wakes up feeling like he's floating. He supposes it's better than drowning, but its not exactly safe either.

He is wrapped in a blanket in loose clothing and the room is warm. But it does not feel right. The ceiling above him is too white, while the window in the corner of his eye is far too clean and it is almost hard to make out the glass. When he turns his head to look he sees huge green trees behind a group of white warehouses, each emblazoned with large 'A's on the side. The paths between them are perfectly neat and made of crisp, white gravel.

The area outside is empty of people, but he can hear voices from somewhere behind him. The serum allows him to hear the muffled conversation through a wall, but he cannot quite make out the words. However, the feeling of being watched does not come from them. His soldier's instincts and awareness make him aware of someone else standing in the room.

The make no noise, no movement, but he knows they're there. He's not a super soldier for nothing.

He slowly moves the blanket in such a way that he would be able to make a quick escape from the couch if necessary, and subtly scans what he can see of the room looking for any possible way out.

He doesn't know where he is, and from what he remembers of the people he met when he first woke up they hadn't been threatening, but he can't take the chance that this is Hydra. It always seems to be Hydra.

He tenses, ready to run, when a female voice speaks from behind him.

"I see you are awake Captain Rogers. Can I get you anything?"

He slowly turns, and recognises the woman from earlier with fiery red hair. She is standing still in the centre of the room, which is also completely white and pristine.

"You could tell me your name."

He's not in the mood for wasting time today.

The woman gives him a half smile and replies. "For most of the world that is classified information Captain. But, it's Natasha. Natasha Romanoff."

"And who do you work for Miss Romanoff?"

"She's part of a team of superheroes called the Avengers. We answer to SHIELD and Director Fury, and we protect America from threats that no one else can handle."

This came from the man walking through the door, who looked like Howard and claimed he was his nonexistent son, accompanied by the doctor Bruce and the other man he recognised from before, who named himself Clint.

Steve stood up to face them.

"So your on our side? You're not with the Nazis or Hydra?"

"Of course!" They looked scandalized he'd even suggested it.

"Then where have you been for the whole war?" Steve growled out in what Dugan called his 'channelling Colonel Phillips voice'. "You claim you're superheroes and can fight off everything the rest of us can't. You also claim you fight for us. So _where have you been?_ We've been fighting and dying all over Europe while you've sat here in your clean white buildings doing fuck all apparently. I've watched men burn to death, explode to pieces, go mad from watching friends die in front of them. These are all normal people. They've been there. Where were you?"

And somehow, even though they knew what Steve didn't, his impassioned speech made them feel guilty that they hadn't been there.

"Steve, we'll explain everything, I promise, but first what is the last thing you can remember?" Bruce ventured, putting off the inevitable for the moment.

Steve sat back down on the sofa, looking weary, and the Avengers walked round infront of him. Bruce sat on the coach beside him, Natasha was on the coffee table, Clint was perched on the arm of a chair and Tony was leaning against the window, looking out at the empty compound.

"I defeated the Red Skull, Schmidt, and was sitting in the Pilot's chair at the front of the Valkyrie. The bombs were still on board and the plane was headed for New York. Howard patched me through to Peggy and Colonel Phillips. They were trying to find a solution, but I knew there wasn't time. I couldn't risk bombing New York if it went wrong, so while there was still time I decided to put her in the water. Keep everyone safe.

"Peggy didn't want me to obviously. I could hear her crying over the radio as we talked. She told me she'd teach me to dance as long as I didn't break my promise to meet her at the Stork Club next week. I wanted to cry too, but I didn't. I tried to be strong, for her. The last thing I saw was the photo of her I kept in my compass.

"Then I hit the ice. I was thrown forwards out of the chair and the window was smashed by the force of the collision. The glass shards hit me all over. Then the water rushed in. I had no time to even breathe before the salt water rushed down my throat and into my lungs. I started to choke but was completely underwater and there was no hope of air at all. I remember not breathing for well over ten minutes while my foot was trapped under something, but the serum prevented me from passing out."

Bruce absently noticed the fine tremors shaking Steve's body, but was too absorbed in the horrific tale.

"Once I got my foot free I tried to claw my way out through the open window but my muscles were too fatigued from the lack of oxygen. The water was blossoming red around me. Next I registered the cold. The water was freezing. Chunks of ice floated in it and they got into my lungs. I already had no control over my own body by the time my lungs were frozen. I then felt the blood in the veins freeze bit by bit.

"I felt myself die and I knew this was not something you come back from. This was the end. But the serum wouldn't let my mind shut down. I died. Over and over and over again. Freezing and drowning and bleeding and _dying._ Except I couldn't. My body wouldn't let me even though it had already shut down.

"I couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't _do_ anything. All I could feel was cold. And pain. But that's why I said it felt like forever since I last breathed Doctor."

He turned his focus on Bruce, deep blue eyes fixed on the man's face, on the pained gaze, on the tear tracks down the cheeks.

"Because I'd almost forgotten what a relief it was to have oxygen in your lungs. I almost forgot what it felt like to breathe."

Clint roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve as Steve wrapped the blanket tighter around his shivering form.

"Now you will answer my question." Steve looked round at them all individually, his sad blue eyes staring them down in turn. _"Where have you been this whole time?"_

There was a soft thump as Tony rested his forehead against the glass. Natasha held Steve's hand in her's and whispered, "you have been through too much in your short life Captain. And I'm sorry. But this will hurt."

"What do you mean?" the soldier asked confused.

Tony sighed. "There's a reason why I exist now and didn't before, why everything is cleaner and more advanced than you're used to, why it felt like you had been frozen for an eternity Cap."

Steve has a horrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "No..."

Tony grimaced. "We're going to help you get through this, but there's no putting off the truth Steve. You've been asleep for over 70 years."


End file.
